Beaver lessons at Willamette Primary school

We had a wonderful day learning about beaver and wetland ecology. We made lists of everything we might find in a wetland (using Willamette Wetland as our reference), then we made a model of interactions from the list. In between these two activities, we did an activity to show all the adaptations a beaver has for living in its amazing and unique habitat! This lesson, called build a beaver, involves dressing up a volunteer like a beaver in two layers of jackets (to show beavers have two layers of fur), ear covers and goggles (beavers have special flaps and membranes over orifices for swimming underwater), flippers and a paddle (for swimming and steering)! There are a few other items too that demonstrate all the remarkable features of beavers that makes them wonderfully adapted to their habitat.

Next we will tour the local wetlands to compare the accuracy of our list with what is actually there in the wetland. Stay tuned!

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The Most Informative Beaver Organization

Worth a Dam – one of the greatest beaver support organizations in the world is right here on the west coast! Our thanks to Martinez Beavers for highlighting the importance of beaver ecology.

West Linn Parks & Recreation

West Linn has one of the greatest parks & rec departments in the region and we’re always working to provide awesome events, classes, and camps for all age groups. Check our monthly calendar for current happenings.

Leaving it to beavers

The recent documentary Leave it to Beavers did an excellent job of explaining through media the amazing benefits beavers have to the ecosystem. We recommend this short video for your next movie night!